Fossils & Rocks

My kids are obsessed with rocks and thanks to them, I am now too. In spring of 2016, after I watched an entire bucket of rocks from our driveway make their way into my children’s bedroom collections, I decided it was time we venture out and get them some rocks that are much cooler than gravel. What kid wouldn’t want to find 40-50 million year old fish fossils in Kemmerer, Wyoming or geodes created 6-8 million years ago near Dugway, Utah on the Pony Express Trail and extinct hard shelled creatures called trilobites from 520 million years ago near Delta, Utah? Sounds like a blast to me! To read about a few of our favorite trips, click the links below.

My rock and fossil hunting bucket list –

The Fossil Field Program in Natural History State Park looks like a blast. This week long program near Vernal, Utah happens annually in June for up to 15 people ages 16+ allowing participants to work along side experts in the field of paleontology to collect specimens for the museum. How fun would that be?!?

Although we’ve been to U-Dig and loved it, we’re thinking about checking out A New Dig which is a nearby trilobite quarry opened by a former U-Dig employee outside of Delta, Utah.

The Florissant Fossil Quarry is located 36 miles west of Colorado Springs at 8,500′ and looks like a great place to find 35 million year old plants, bugs and bird fossils.

The Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita, Colorado (21 miles from Grand Junction) has several programs throughout the summer including 1/2 and full day digs for ages 7+ at the Collision Quarry as well as fossil prospecting hikes.